In previous articles, I explained why I feel safer living in Iran and that arrests that we read about do not apply to tourists unless they really violate national security norms.

Take travel advisories on Iran with a grain of salt

So why do the governments of some Western countries always advise against travel to Iran – always regardless of the state of relations with Iran.

The reason is like why packages of even common medicine contain warnings against countless tragedies.

1. Governments feel obliged to warn against everything that happened or could happen.

2. Governments never ever acknowledge their citizens’ actual fault and place the entire blame on the unfriendly countries.

In Iran, arrests always “arbitrary” and “fabricated” diplomats say. Why?

I read news of arrests of foreigners with keen attention, because I have an interest in self-survival. But the more I read, the less I know because the diplomats quoted by the news media are more interested in strategy than the truth.

My guess is there’s a diplomatic strategy not to ever acknowledge wrongdoing by a citizen in trouble in an unfriendly country. Don’t ever give an inch, is the thinking.

Tens of thousands are arrested every year in some U.S. states for simple marijuana possession.

But when Texas basketball star Brittany Griner got nabbed, it was “unjust” and “wrongful”, Joe Biden said. Why? Because she was arrested in Russia.

Likewise, Iran always arrests “arbitrarily” and all charges are entirely “fabricated”, if you believe what the politicians say.

In the diplomatic realm, arrests in Iran go something like this:

It took a reckless oaf like Boris Johnson to connect Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to the training of journalists. Diplomats then immediately buried his statement with denials.

After his release last week, Danish vlogger Thomas Kjems indirectly acknowledged to BBC that “I did a few videos” of street riots. He did us a favor by punching a hole through the convenient denials of governments.

I’m not saying what Kjems and others went through was fair, that their treatment was proportional to their deeds, and they were not used as pawns.

I’m saying tourists in Iran aren’t arrested without reason and every charge is not fabricated.

Because the bullshit rains on every side. The diplomats’ loyalty is to the games of their profession over the subtleties of the truth, anyone researching travel safety in Iran should consider.

And, naturally, politicians prefer that you stay home. I would too if I had to cleanup after people who turn into riot vloggers in the middle of their tour of Iran.

Travel advisories warn against pretty much any travel to anywhere

There are warnings on travel to any friendly or unfriendly country on the globe.

There are countless warning about travel to the U.S. because of the gun thing. China and Japan even issued travel pamphlets on what to say when you’re about to be shot. 

But every other country on the planet is a subject of travel warnings – that often sound identical.

Canada warns its citizens about the likelihood of terrorism in the UK (with a yellow exclamation icon):

The British return the favor by this warning (with a black exclamation icon): Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Canada.

Friends & family are primed to react negatively on travel safety in Iran

Visceral fear of Iran is pretty much embedded in the Western psyche because of the aforementioned warping effect. Sarcastic reactions from friends and family – maybe even explosive anger – are to be expected. 

the Iran you experience in person is different

This is why some first-time Iran visitors are surprised upon arrival. They don’t expect the modern cities, the comfortable accommodations, the gracious hosts who bend over backwards to please, the strangers watching and smiling, even walking up to thank you for your visit. 

Most unexpected is how Western tourists are treated in the streets, almost like celebrities. Total strangers ask to do selfies! (Forgive them, please. They’re teens and young adults infatuated with the West, which is a very common theme here.)

“I am so confused,” the late Anthony Bourdain said when he was in Iran. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

I think part of the mismatch between what we expect of Iran and its reality has to do with the ignorant impressions that we unknowingly develop about foreign people and places. I’ve been a victim myself. I explain here.